Theme co-ordinator: Bjarni D. Sigurdsson
The forest ecosystem stores significant amounts of carbon in the
biomass of trees and in the soil. These soil and biomass stores of
carbon are greatly affected by forest management and harvesting
intensity through changes in the standing stock of wood and soil carbon
dynamics. Following the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol there has
been increasing focus on possibilities to sequester more carbon in
biological systems and to use wood for energy production. There are many
indications that the forests sequester carbon from the atmosphere,
thereby providing a significant environmental service to society. The
ability to mitigate atmospheric CO2 is therefore an important
part in evaluations of the sustainability of various types of forest
management. The potential for increased carbon storage relates to
management options such as thinning intensity, rotation length, drainage
regime, tree species, and silvicultural system (e.g. target diameter
harvesting systems vs. clear-cut systems). The emission/
consumption of
other greenhouse gasses such as methane and nitrous oxide are considered
as well.